Graveyard Stroll
by BellaC874
Summary: Bella's friends decide on walking through a cemetery for some Halloween thrills. What they encounter is more than they bargained for. Part of last year's Countdown to Halloween.


**A/N: T****his one-shot was part of last year's Countdown to Halloween, so I thought I'd post it on my profile this year. **

**Thanks to Breath-of-Twilight for looking over this one-shot for me. :) (Any mistakes you see are my own.)**

**Warning: A scene of violence and a (small) lemon. This was my attempt at writing a lemon, so forgive me if it's not any good. **

****Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I own absolutely nothing. ****

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><p>The wind howls through the windows, making an ordinary sound seem ominous. Outside, a storm is brewing, and within moments, it'll be raining with thunder and lightning. Because my father isn't home to drown out the sounds of outside forces with the television blaring from downstairs and his occasional shouts at a sports team, every sound will be amplified and I will most likely be more scared than I should be.<p>

I'm not afraid of being by myself, because more often than not, I'm left alone since my father works as the Police Chief in our tiny town of Forks. I'm used to him working late or obscure hours, so I have gotten used to having the house to myself.

I'm not afraid of storms either; I've loved them since I was little girl. I love listening to the rain and seeing lightning light up the sky while feeling the rumble of thunder surge through my body. But there's something about tonight that has me on edge. I can't quite put my finger on it. I just feel ... strange, as if something is warning me about what is to come.

Instead of sitting in the living room, I take refuge in my room and change into my pajamas, hoping the small quarters will offer me comfort while I feel so out of sorts.

To distract myself, I turn on the tiny television in hopes of finding some mundane show that will take my mind off of everything. Flicking through the channels, I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something. Knowing whatever I forgot will come back to me if it's important, I stop on a good enough looking television show and settle into bed to watch it. A sharp streak of lightning strikes outside of my window, causing the power to go out and cover everything in darkness.

My heart hammers in my chest as I take in a deep breath, trying to tell myself that it's only the storm. Rising from my bed, I slowly walk over to the window to see if my neighbor's lights are out as well. Peering through the rain soaked window, I see they aren't.

My thoughts immediately jump to someone being in the house, but the rational side of my brain argues. I have all the doors and windows locked, and the alarm system is engaged. No one can enter this house without me knowing.

Besides, who would break into the Chief's house?

Still, a feeling of nervousness rises within me, and I debate about going downstairs to check the breaker box in the garage. Sometimes knobs and wires will get loose, especially if there's heavy wind, and you'll have to secure them in place.

I want to stay up here where it's safe, but since it's just our house and it will get rather warm in here in less than an hour, I know I have to go downstairs and fix it. I don't want the food to spoil in the fridge; I shopped for food yesterday and having it go bad will not be a good thing.

Swallowing thickly, I shakily grab a flashlight out of my desk drawer and slowly make my way downstairs. My bare feet gently slap against the hardwood as I patter through my house, going for the garage. Rain from the storm pelts the windows, sounding like pebbles being thrown against them.

My eyes turn to the kitchen window as lightning flashes again, illuminating the small space. In the reflective surface, I see my own reflection as well as a dark shape behind me.

I gasp and spin around toward this unknown shape, I raise my hand with the flashlight, ready to hit this figure, but I'm stopped by a familiar voice as the lights come back on and another smaller familiar shape walks up a few seconds later.

"BELLA!"

My best friend Rosalie Hale is standing there, wide-eyed and shocked. Next to her, Alice is wearing the same expression with a hint of amusement.

"What the hell are you doing? How did you get in here?"

"We used the key over the porch light! You told us earlier to come in when we got here, remember?"

"I'm sorry, Rose. I forgot. I thought you were an intruder."

"It's fine," she says, a hand over her heart. "You almost gave me a black eye, though."

"Yeah. If she hadn't have screamed, you definitely would have messed up her pretty face," Alice teases with a laugh, pinching Rose's cheek. Rose slaps her hand away with a small grin.

"Enough. Are you still coming out with us, Bella?"

That's what I forgot!

Tonight, Alice and Rose, along with their boyfriends, wanted to go to a horror movie marathon the local theater was having for a Halloween celebration, in effort to keep the teenagers out of trouble. I didn't have faith it would work and neither did my father, who took the night shift to make sure everything goes smoothly tonight.

When they first brought up the idea, I tried to bow out, since I didn't want to go out when everyone else would be playing stupid pranks, drinking, and acting like a five year old on a sugar high. But they begged me, and after twenty minutes, I gave in, not wanting to spoil their fun.

Glancing at my friends, I see they're already dressed in black robe-like dresses made of velvet. They have long bell sleeves and slits up their thighs, paired with fishnet stockings and thigh-high high heeled boots. They have the hoods of their dresses down but I know from when we tried them on only a few features of their face will be visible, a fact they used to their advantage. They both have light foundation covering their skin, paired with blackish-gray smoky eyeshadow and cherry red lipstick.

I really hate that they wanted to dress up for this event and have the entire group dress up in a theme. The theme they picked is altar priestesses and priests, and I vehemently argued about dressing up. However, once I saw their put out faces, I couldn't say no. Besides, they hardly ever ask anything of me, so I know I can do this one thing for them.

"Yeah, I'm coming," I say with a small sigh as they drag me upstairs to get changed.

Going to my closet, I pull out my matching dress, except it's in a dark purple color. When they gave me the dress, I questioned why it was different than theirs and they replied they wanted it to be in my favorite color.

Changing quickly, I allow Rose and Alice to do my make-up because I can't accomplish the smoky-eyed look like they did. I tried it earlier in the week and the end result looked like I had smeared it on with my fingertips.

Once my make-up is on – all smoky eyed and red lips – and my boots are zipped up, I pull on the dress, feeling uncomfortable with the slits that go up my thighs. I'm hoping for it to conceal more of my legs, but end up with more of my cleavage showing. The low square cut of the dress amplifies my chest a great deal more than what I'm used to, but I'm not going to argue over it. As long as nothing is showing and more of my legs feel covered, I'm good.

Still, I glare at my friends, who snicker at me.

"Bella, you got it. You might as well show it off," Alice giggles, pointing to my slightly larger than average boobs. "You might catch someone's eye tonight."

I roll my eyes. "The only guy I want looking at me is Edward, not some horny guy drooling over me and trying to cop a feel in darkened movie theater."

"Would you let Edward drool and cop a feel?" she asks me slyly, glancing at me from the corner of her eye.

I've been dating Alice's older brother, Edward, for ten months now. She thinks we haven't gone past chaste kissing, but what she doesn't know is we've gone a lot further than that. Two months ago, we slept together and muddled through the awkwardness that is your first time having sex ... and it was awkward.

There was fumbling, grunts, groans, a little bit of pain, and it was over before it had really began. Edward was embarrassed about that fact and made it his mission from that night forward to make it up to me, and he's certainly accomplished that. Every time afterward has been more spectacular and mind blowing than the last.

Alice and Rose have asked about my relationship with Edward and the progress we've made, but I don't want to share that part of my relationship with them. So I keep it between Edward and I, letting her assume the rest. One day they might eventually find out our relationship has progressed, but until then, it's between Edward and me.

"Maybe," I mumble, pushing her forward, making her and Rose laugh. "Let's go before I change my mind."

We pile into Rose's four door car and drive the short distance to the theater. Thankfully, it has stopped raining, but the forecast called for rain happening on and off all night, so before this evening is done, more rain will fall.

The theater parking lot is slightly packed, but we manage to find a spot in the back of the lot, away from other cars so Rose's "baby" won't be scratched by sniveling, ignorant little mouth breathers. Her words, not mine.

"Okay girls," Alice begins, straightening her dress. "We're sexy, we're awesome. Let's own it!"

Rose and I follow her example and pull up our hoods, straightening our postures and holding our heads high. As we walk up to the theater, our boots clicking in unison against the pavement, we get tons of looks and whistles, but we ignore them. We only care about what our guys think.

Getting closer to the theater, we see Emmett and Jasper waiting for us, but no Edward in sight. He said earlier today he might not be able to make it because he's filling out college applications and preparing for a plethora of tests coming up, but promised he would try his best. I really hope he can make it because I don't want to be the fifth wheel.

Emmett and Jasper are dressed in full covered black robes as well, matching our costumes only they're wearing black jeans underneath. They each call out to their girlfriends, whistling in appreciation when we reach them.

"I'd say trick or treat, but I'm definitely getting a treat," Emmett says, looking like he could drool at any moment over Rose, who has walked into his arms, shoving her tongue down his throat.

"That's my sister," Jasper groans, shaking his head.

"So? You don't see me berating you for ogling my sister do you?" Emmett retorts, breaking away from Rose.

Jasper ignores him and kisses Alice deeply, making her moan. Both couples are actively making out against the side of the building and I remember why I argued about coming out. _This_ was the reason.

Clearing my throat, I give them a disgusted grin when they break away, breathless. Amazingly, Alice and Rose's lipstick is smudge free, making me wonder what brand they use.

"Sorry Bella," Jasper apologizes.

"Whoa, Bella!" Emmett shouts, gaining attention from a nearby crowd. "You look HOT!"

"Yeah, you do!" The crowd agrees, making me fidget.

Rose rolls her eyes and slaps the back of Emmett's head. "Don't make her uncomfortable. Come on, let's see what's playing."

Looking at the board of show times, we see nothing good is showing. They're mostly horrible B movies that have ridiculous acting and special effects that will most likely make you burst with laughter rather than fright.

"Man this sucks," Emmett sulks, disappointed.

"Yeah. I was hoping they would have at least a few good movies showing." Rose sighs in agreement.

"Hey, why don't we go to Rocking Creek? I bet it'll be scary as hell, especially on Halloween night with this weather. We're bound to see a ghost!" Jasper suggests, making the others glow with excitement.

"I don't know," I trail off.

Rocking Creek is a cemetery most people in town stay away from. There are legends whispered all around town about Rocking Creek, legends that vary from person to person, depending on who you ask. Some will tell you there are vengeful ghosts lingering about, ready and waiting to unleash their wrath upon you for any trivial reason. One legend I heard occurred in the fifties; it's said a person had tossed garbage onto the ground and was brutally attacked by what he deemed as an "unearthly being."

Others will tell you that once you go in you never come out because they knew a friend of a friend of a friend that disappeared there.

The most recent story about Rocking Creek was born seven years ago. According to the stories, four high school seniors—two boys and two girls—from Port Angeles decided to go to Rocking Creek on Halloween, looking for a good time. Early the next morning, one girl was found wandering through town, her face void of any emotion and her hair stark white. She didn't say anything but "Rocking Creek" which prompted other officers to go and look.

There, they found the other girl and one of the boys dead. All they found of the other boy was his blood, covering a gravestone.

Many people since then have tried to find out if this was true, but since their names weren't given out and no one at the police station would answer any questions, most assumed it to be false.

Despite this and all the stories, whether they believe them true or not, everyone all agrees that Rocking Creek isn't a place you want to be.

"You're not scared, are you?" Emmett taunts.

"Why would she be scared? It's all just stories." A deep voice sounds from behind me, making me spin around.

Edward stands behind me, his bronze hair tousled in its usually messy way, dressed similarly to Emmett and Jasper. Even though the robe is unflattering, somehow Edward makes it look wonderful and somehow, sexy. Now, all I want to do is take him back to my house and tear that fabric off of him.

His green eyes sparkle as he catches me blatantly staring at him and I shift my gaze away from him quickly, causing him to chuckle lowly. He wraps his arms around me from behind, holding me tightly against his front. I can feel he likes my costume as well, the evidence supporting my theory is currently poking me in my lower back, causing my skin to flush.

"I just don't think it's a good idea," I argue with Emmett, trying to control my hormones. How can one person rile someone up to the point where they feel like they'll burst into flames at any moment? "That place doesn't have the best reputation."

_Especially if there are vengeful ghosts wandering about, punishing people for trivial things. With my clumsiness, I might as well walk into that cemetery with a bulls eye on my back. _

"Just because a few old farts in town say it's haunted? Come on, Bella. Just because they say it's haunted or whatever doesn't mean it is. It's superstition. Someone probably started a rumor to keep the kids from vandalizing it back in the day."

"Then why has no one been buried there for fifty years?"

Unfortunately, this is true. No one has been buried at Rocking Creek for quite some time. When someone does pass on, they're buried at Eternal Peace cemetery, completely bypassing the oldest cemetery in town. Whenever it's mentioned, people just say they stay away from that place and leave it at that.

Emmett struggles to answer me, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. After gaping like a fish for a few moments, he shakes his head, sighing heavily.

"Look, the theater is a bust. It's Halloween; we should do something fun. Besides, how cool will it be when we tell everyone we came out of Rocking Creek alive and unharmed?"

I bite my lip, still debating. I don't believe in urban legends, but something deep in my gut is telling me to stay away from Rocking Creek. I'm not sure whether it's intuition or fear, all I know is I would rather watch bad movies than go to that place.

"Come on, Bella. It could be fun," Alice pleads.

"Famous last words," I mutter.

"The guys are here, and they won't let anything happen to us, right guys?"

They all murmur an agreement, nodding with conviction.

"Fine."

With excited shouts, we head to Emmett's Jeep, opting to leave Rose's car here for the time being. We all get in and Emmett speeds toward the cemetery, babbling non-stop about how he hopes we'll walk away with a good story.

The driveway to Rocking Creek has long since been abandoned, making any traffic to the gates impossible, so Emmett has to park his car near the once used entrance while we walk the short, overgrown driveway to enter with three flashlights Emmett keeps in his car for emergencies.

While everyone walks ahead, I lag behind, wondering if I can convince them to let me stay in the car. Preferably with the motor running in case they run out screaming.

"Hey," Edward whispers in my ear, making me jump. "Sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay."

"You know nothing bad will happen, right? I'm sure that it's all legends and such."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure..."

My voice trails off as we reach the old rusted iron gate, all of us standing in front of it silently. The gate stands at about nine feet tall with sharp points at the top, ensuring if anyone were to climb over, they were likely to impaled. Brown weeds are entangled in the bars like vines, wrapping around them like a harness.

Above us, lightning flashes, and thunder follows shortly after, but no rain has fallen again. That won't be the case for the long, though. The smell of rain is thick in the air and will drop on our heads at any moment.

Emmett and Jasper push the fence forward, causing it let out a loud groan as the rusted hinges protest against the action.

I jump slightly, falling into Edward's side. I apologize softly, and he grasps my hand within his, holding it tightly.

When I look at him in question, he gives me a crooked smile. "I'll protect you."

I nod, ignoring how my hand tingles at the contact, seeing our friends are creeping slowly inside, their hands locked with their partners. Edward and I follow them in, a sense of foreboding sitting heavily on my shoulders.

Strangely, inside the cemetery the temperature feels a lot colder than it did outside of the gates and I'm not the only one who notices. Rose and Alice both shiver at the change of temperature as we all stand looking over the graveyard.

Rows and rows of headstones greet us, each one lined up perfectly beside and behind one another, like an army of death. Trees that are barren of leaves stand at each end of the cemetery, casting spooky shadows of skeletal looking hands on the ground when lightning flashes. At the far end of the cemetery, there is a large structure with gargoyles on the top, where people once laid their loved ones ashes to rest.

Emmett and Jasper have to pull Rose and Alice forward, as both of them seem to have lost their bravado. Edward pulls me along as well, eagerly following his brother and friend forward. We creep through the graveyard, walking at a slow pace on the brown grass. My eyes are darting everywhere throughout the space as I get the feeling we're being watched.

I try to peer through the darkness, but I can see nothing. I turn to ask Edward if I can borrow his flashlight, but he's shining it around the different headstones, looking around with excitement, so I know he won't give it up.

"Let's split up and cover more ground," Emmett suggests, turning toward the rest of us. "That will increase our chances of seeing a ghost!"

"Hell yes! We'll meet up by the gates?" Jasper agrees with enthusiasm.

"Hold on, you want to split up? No way," I argue.

Rose and Alice nod in agreement, looking a little scared as they clutch their boyfriend's hands. Beside me, Edward's lips twist as his eyes scan the area, thinking over the situation.

"Let's stay in eye contact and shouting distance. Just in case. We don't know if there are other people here that could be dangerous."

"Not a problem," Emmett agrees, looking like a kid on Christmas morning.

With the agreement made, both couples separate from Edward and I, each pair going to opposite sides of the cemetery. Edward and I continue forward, heading for the mausoleum, while looking around for any spectral beings.

Well, Edward is looking for ghosts. I'm keeping my eyes on the forward, not wanting to trip and definitely not looking for someone lurking about beyond the grave. When the wind whips around us, chilling me, I move closer to Edward's warmth and he opens an arm, wrapping it around my shoulder.

"Did I tell you that you look beautiful?"

"No."

"Well, you do. Thank you for wearing this costume. I really love it," he whispers suggestively in my ear.

"I know, I felt as much," I smirk. "Alice and Rose wanted to do a group theme, so I indulged. Besides it's kind of fun, except for being here." A shiver racks through my body as lightning once again illuminates the creepy trees around us.

"We can go if you want. I don't want to force you to be here."

Looking at his face, I see he looks so sad at the thought of leaving, and I don't want to be the cause for that look on his face, ever.

"No, we'll stay. I'm sorry," I tell him, pecking his lips softly. He gives me a crooked smile and continues forward with renewed excitement.

As we're getting closer to the mausoleum, I fail to see a small headstone in my path and fall over it, my shoes making a loud clacking sound as they hit the rock. I land on the ground with a hard thud, thankfully bypassing other items that will give me a concussion or impale me. The breath leaves my lungs in a huge whoosh as my head bounces off the grass.

"Bella?"

Edward crouches down, pointing the flashlight in my direction without blinding me in the process.

"Are you alright?"

"Just ... peachy," I reply trying to get my breathing back to normal.

After a moment, my breathing returns to its normal state and Edward grabs a hold of my arm and helps me stand. I brush the dead grass of my dress, feeling my stocking has torn down the front. Hoping to cover it, I pull my dress down, trying in vain to cover the tear and anything that might be showing. Edward sighs in disappointment and I give him a strange look, which makes him grin cheekily at me.

"I'm a guy. If it was fine with you and other guys wouldn't look, I would prefer you naked, all the time."

I shake my head in false exasperation and look toward the ground, silently praying I didn't destroy anything. Wrapping my hand around the flashlight—which is still encased in Edward's hand—I shine the light to where I fell and groan aloud.

The gravestone has dirt and scuff marks from my shoes, marking the old stone that marks someone's final resting place.

A feeling of remorse and guilt rises within me as I look at the damage I inflicted.

"Oh no."

Just as I say the words, lightning flashes across the sky, thunder rumbles loudly, and it's so powerful, it feels like the earth could move at any moment. The temperature around us drops considerably as the wind swirls around us, dragging up dead leaves that disintegrate with the rough winds, sounding like crinkling paper.

Edward wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side, his eyes scanning the area around us. I fist his robe in my hands, trying to remain calm, when inside, I feel anything but calm.

A low moan and scathing hiss travels across the grounds, igniting a shiver within me that has nothing to do with the cold. Beside me, Edward is stiff as a board; I'm not even sure he's breathing. Our friends, in other parts of the cemetery, release a collective scream. From both directions, I can hear their heavy footsteps and see the flailing lights from their flashlights as they run in our direction.

"Isabella..." a harsh whisper sounds through the wind.

I jump and look up at Edward, wondering if I just imagined what I heard. One look at his huge eyes tells me I haven't imagined anything. My heart stutters in my chest and shoots up into my throat as the winds around us pick up and our friends get closer.

"What the hell was that?" Jasper questions, his breathing labored.

"I don't know," Rose answers, breathless. "Emm and I were exploring a bit, looking for a ghost when we heard something hiss at us. When we heard that we screamed and ran like our asses were on fire."

"Us too," Alice says, leaning into Jasper's side. "We heard a moan and a hiss and we just ... ran. What was it?"

Everyone looks to Edward, who is still frozen in place, his eyes huge as they stare at me. I'm staring right back at him, frightened.

"Edward?"

"Isabella..."

The same harsh whisper says again, closer this time. Suddenly, the feeling of two ice cold arms wrap around my waist and tug me forcibly backward, away from Edward. At that precise moment, the skies unleash their fury and rain pours, soaking us instantly as I fly through the air, screaming. My hands try to push the unseen appendages away from me while simultaneously trying to grab onto to something to keep me still, but I can grab onto nothing but air.

Everyone screams while Edward leaps forward, trying to get to me but he's too slow. Still, he keeps running after me, a look of concentration and fear on his face. My journey through the air halts as my back hits the side of the mausoleum. The cold appendages that were wrapped me are now gone and I fall heavily onto the floor, my body collapsing like a sack of rocks.

"Bella," Edward gasps, skidding on his knees in front of me, tearing the cloth of his jeans. "Come on, get up."

I try to stand, but my legs give out as soon as I stand upon them. Edward scoops me up in his arms and runs back over to our friends, who are waiting anxiously for our return with wide eyes. Once we're near them, they take off, throwing inquiries about me over their shoulders as they run. I try to answer them, but my paralyzing fear causes the words to disappear once I have them on the tip of my tongue.

When we reach the gate, we clamber for it, but it shuts with a sharp snap. Our friends in front of us give a short scream, jumping back so they're not caught between the two sides of the gate.

Once the shock wears off, Emmett and Jasper start pulling on the gate door, trying with all of their strength to get it open.

My head rests on Edward's shoulder as he stands by impatiently, waiting for the guys to get our way out open. When they get nowhere, he calls Rose and Alice over, setting me down gently on my feet between them.

"You okay?"

I nod my head like a bobble doll, still feeling shaken. Edward moves away from me and to the guys, helping them open it.

The air whips around us, cold and frightening as the same low moan from earlier echoes around us, making Rose and Alice scream in fright. I try to scream along with them, but my voice seems to have disappeared.

"Oh ... my ... God!" Rose screams, looking at something from behind us. We follow her line of vision and see a corporeal figure gliding across the grass, through the gravestones, heading right for us. My eyes remain glued on the figure as the girls rush forward, trying to help the guys.

I remain in place, watching in horror as the figure moves closer and closer, revealing its appearance. The ghostly figure is a woman, with waist length pale blonde hair that is flowing freely down her shoulders and looks to be tangled and matted. She's dressed in a Victorian nightgown that covers her entire body from head to foot.

Her eyes are black as the night around us, but strangely, they seem to glow a dull gray color and they zero in on me. I shiver with fear as they narrow on me, never leaving my gaze as she comes closer and closer.

Finally, I hear the metallic screeching of the gate opening and sighs of relief from my friends. I hear their footsteps scurry out, into safety and away from this otherworldly being.

"Bella, come on," Edward pleads, gripping my hand and pulling me forward, causing me to stumble.

The trance I have with the ghost is broken and I scramble toward the gate, trying to get out. Edward rushes through first, his hand still within mine, pulling me through. As my foot makes contact with the ground outside of the gate, I feel something tug hard on my hair, pulling me back into the cemetery.

The gate closes with a slam, the shout of Edward and my friends ringing over the deafening thunder. I scramble backward on my hands, ignoring the stinging in them as I back away from the being that's glaring at me with hate in her eyes.

The being comes at me, growling. Her hands wrap around my neck and I feel an intense burning sensation, almost like she's branding me. I release another scream as we fly through the air and she tosses me onto the ground with a thud. I struggle to sit up and catch my breath, but it's seemingly impossible as my fear has frozen everything within me.

I sit against a cold stone, watching as the woman stands there, her blackish gray eyes burning holes into me. My body shivers due to fright and the cold water soaking my dress doesn't allow me to stay warm, thanks to the slits on my thighs.

"You disrespected me," she hisses, her voice dark, menacing ... angry. "You defiled me. Look! Look at my grave!"

She points at something beside me and I see the grave marker I tripped over. Hastily, I take a section of my costume and clean the scuff marks and dirt from it, revealing the name "Amelia Jane Porter." Looking over it quickly, I see she died at seventeen, the same age I am.

"It's too late for that," she snaps. "You defiled me! You disrespected me! Now, you pay."

"Please," I croak, my tears blending with the heavy rain. I raise my hands and push my feet into the ground, trying to get away as she moves forward, but I'm blocked by the stone behind me. Despite this, I still try to move, not caring that the gravestone is probably cutting the sensitive flesh of my back. "I didn't mean to. I swear. I didn't mean to. It was accident."

The girl doesn't listen to my pleas. Instead, she moves forward as if to strike me, but before she can make contact, a figure behind her swings something at her corporeal body, making her vanish like smoke before my eyes.

A rough hand jerks me up in their arms and before I can release the scream building in my throat, we're moving toward the exit, running through the now open gate, quickly.

We're safely on the outside when I realize Emmett and Edward are with me, the former holding a pipe of some sort and the latter with me still in his arms. A gut wrenching screech fills the night and Amelia Jane is moving toward the gate with malice etched on her face.

With a yelp, we're off again to the car, where it's running and waiting, with the others all chanting for us to hurry and get in the car. Emmett throws himself into the backseat, holding his arms open for me. Edward tosses me inside before following Emmett's lead and jumping in.

"Go, go, go!" he commands of Jasper, who doesn't need to be told twice. Pounding his foot on the gas, the tires screech and mud flies as they carry us further and further away from Rocking Creek.

The car is silent as Edward's fingers gently touch my throat, inspecting what I suspect are burns. He shakes his head silently, placing a soft kiss on the injured skin, after which he hugs to me his chest, making me hiss as he applies pressure to the wounds there.

"Let me see," he murmurs, pulling away and turning me gently. As I do so, I see my friends staring at me with worry. I try to smile in reassurance, but the best I can do is a grimace and try not to sob like a baby.

"It's badly bruised, Love," Edward tells me, carefully tucking my still shaking frame under his arm. "We are never doing anything like that ever again."

"Agreed," they all murmur.

A beat of silence passes before Alice speaks, her voice tiny.

"Are you okay, Bella?"

"As good as I can be, I suppose," I reply, my voice sounding like I ate sand.

Alice rolls her eyes and shifts her gaze to her brother, clearly not liking my answer.

"She has a slight burn on her throat and her back is black and blue."

She grimaces and gives me sympathetic look. "What did she want?"

I clear my throat, hoping my heart will vacate it so I can speak clearly. "Revenge. I tripped over her tombstone and scuffed it up. She wanted me to pay for disrespecting her."

"It was an accident. She didn't do it on purpose," Edward announces, coming to my defense.

"Of course she didn't. Bella would never disrespect anyone, let alone the dead."

"I guess the stories are true," Emmett muses, idly twirling the pipe between his hands.

"Where did you get that?" Rose questions.

"From the gate. It's iron, and iron repels ghosts, you know."

Everyone in the car is silent, staring at Emmett with wide eyes.

"What? I read!" he says when he notices our staring.

Soon, Jasper pulls into the Cullen driveway, parking the car in the garage. Everyone files out, sluggish now that the adrenaline from the evening has worn off. We all leave our muddy shoes on the porch, knowing that if Esme sees her floors dirty, we'll be scared for an entirely different reason. The house is dark and silent, thanks to Carlisle and Esme attending the hospital's annual Halloween Ball. They won't be home until late tonight, so that gives us until morning to get some rest and process everything that's happened.

"Do you need help with anything, Bella? Rose and I will gladly help you bathe and change."

"I think I'm good." I smile softly.

Alice tips her head forward, before shuddering at something that is going through her mind. "I'm going to take a bath, crawl into bed, and try to forget this night even happened."

"Me too," Rose agrees, shaking out her trembling hands.

The guys follow them as they make their way toward the stairs. At the same time, each and every one of them stops, looking back at Edward and I.

"Just holler if you need us, alright? We're sticking close by," Rose tells us, and the others nod in agreement.

"Thanks," I whisper, feeling exhaustion creep up on me.

"Let's get you upstairs."

I nod at Edward's words and, slowly, we follow the others to the second floor, where they disappear into their rooms with their partners. Edward ushers me into his room, being careful and mindful of the aches I'm sporting.

Edward shuts the door and guides me into his attached bathroom, turning the shower on. The enclosed space fills with warmth, and I shiver at the contrast of temperature between my skin and the steam slowly growing in the room.

"Should I leave so you can get undressed?"

"No. Stay."

He nods and helps me undress, but there's nothing sexual about it. It's just a boyfriend helping his girlfriend while she's injured. After everything is off, Edward quickly strips his clothes off, the sound of them making a wet splattering sound against the tiled floor.

Slowly, he helps me into the walk-in shower and under the spray of the water. My sensitive muscles tense at first contact of the massaging shower head, but slowly ease after a few moments. Relaxation kicks in and I stand under the spray, letting the water wash away the grass and dirt from the evening.

If only it could wash away the marks on my throat and the bruises on my back.

Opening my eyes, I see Edward glancing at me with worried eyes, and I hold out a hand, wanting his touch. Before I can blink, he's holding my hand within his own, pressing it to his cheek as he places sporadic kisses on every surface of skin he can reach.

"I was so scared. I thought tonight would be fun. I didn't really expect to see anything, you know? I thought that it was all stories, but when I saw you flying across that cemetery ...when I saw that ghost pull you from my grasp, I thought I wasn't going to see you again."

I hush his frenzied voice, pulling him toward me.

"I'm fine," I whisper in his ear. "I'm here."

He jerkily nods his head, prompting me to place a kiss under his ear. His hands grasp my hips—as to not hurt my back—squeezing them in response.

The air around us sizzles as the mood changes. Before we were so worried and scared we might not make it out of Rocking Creek alive. Now, there is relief and a feeling of security and love, knowing that we're fine and safe.

My fingers glide up his arms and shoulders, finding their place in his wet hair. Slowly, sensuously, his hands glide down my hips and over my backside, making me shiver in pleasure. His fingers tease the soft skin, kneading it softly and sensually.

My breathing stutters as his lips attach to mine, soft but demanding. His tongue sweeps across my lips, and I grant him entrance, eagerly taking in the unique taste of him.

Without breaking contact, he lowers us to the shower floor, his back resting against the tiles. I fold down onto my knees, keeping a little bit of space between us, as our lips hungrily devour each other. My hands tighten in his hair as he gently maneuvers me forward and in one instant, we're connected.

Slowly, I move over him, swallowing his groans. His hands slowly, but passionately move over my skin, bringing me closer and closer to pleasure. Finally, I fall over the edge, moaning into his mouth. Edward moves within me a few more times before succumbing to his own orgasm, his face etched in ecstasy.

Slowly, our muscles uncoil and we relax into each other's arms, letting the shower rain down on us as we try to remain in this post coital glow as long as we can.

My knees begin to throb as Edward shifts, telling me he's just as uncomfortable as I am. Reluctantly, we stand, but keep our fingers entwined and quickly finish showering.

Once we're finished, Edward hands me a pair of his boxers and a shirt, helping me slip them on before dressing himself.

"I'm sorry about tonight," he says once we're lying in his bed, our arms wrapped around one another.

"It's not your fault I'm clumsy, Edward."

"I know, but I should have protected you."

"Edward, she was a ghost. There's nothing you could have done."

Edward says nothing; he just squeezes me tightly, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"We'll have to tell our parents," I say, playing with the hem of his shirt. "We'll have to explain the marks on me. I don't want Charlie or your parents jumping to conclusions."

"I know. I just hope they believe us."

"Charlie will. He grew up here. He knows the stories. He probably knows someone that went there and experienced the same thing as us, you know?"

"Yeah, hopefully." His words are cut off with a yawn. I tilt my head up, making him tiredly look down at me.

"Let's sleep."

He nods before planting a heavy kiss on my lips. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, too."

I settle myself into his arms, feeling exhaustion creep into my bones and steal me away into the land of sleep.

8*8*8*8*8*8

I'm not sure how long I sleep for, but it doesn't feel like I've slept for long as I come into consciousness. Edward's chest rises and falls beneath me, alerting me to the fact that he's still deeply asleep.

I know it's still dark outside, as no sunlight is coming through the curtains, so I try to settle down, hoping I will fall heavily asleep once more. However, the feeling of extreme fear keeps me from doing so. My eyes pop open and my blood turns to ice as I release a loud scream, meeting the hateful and ire filled gaze of Amelia Jane Porter sitting on the edge of Edward's bed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Happy Halloween! **


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